Monday, April 30, 2012

In 1793, after working in London and Dublin for 18 years, Stuart returned
to America. Two years later, he painted his first portrait of George Washington,
showing the right side of the president's face, a format since known as the
Vaughan type. In the spring of 1796, Washington again sat for Stuart, and the
resulting portrait, which was never finished, was originally acquired by the
Boston Athenaeum. Depicting the left side of the face, this second version was
replicated many times, becoming an icon of American art. The Baltimore art
collector Robert Gilmor, Jr., for a fee of $150, commissioned the artist to
paint this example of the Athaeneum format. It was Stuart's last likeness of
Washington.

If you are ever in Baltimore Maryland. The Walters art museum should be top on
your list to see. It's FREE to visit the world class collections that I call a
mini Louvre. For five years I live two blocks away from this extraordinary
museum and visited often. The is the last post of a series of post of the
wonderful collections at the Walters. Next we will be visiting the collections
at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres is one of my
favorite artist and the Walters has 4 of his paintings, the most you will see in
one place outside of France. My best friend has a Ingres in his private
collection. The photo's of this Walters series were taken in about a hour
just for you when I was in Baltimore last October for a good friends wedding,
enjoy.

The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon
neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection
was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters (1819–1894), who
began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American
Civil War. His private collection became one of the largest and most valuable in
the United States. And his son Henry Walters (1848–1931), who refined the
collection and rehoused it in a palazzo building on Charles Street which opened
in 1909. Upon his death, Henry Walters bequeathed the collection of over 22,000
works and the original Charles Street palazzo building to the city of Baltimore,
“for the benefit of the public.” The collection touches masterworks of ancient
Egypt, Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi, medieval ivories, illuminated
manuscripts, Renaissance bronzes, Old Master and 19th-century paintings, Chinese
ceramics and bronzes, and Art Deco jewelry.

The Woman of Samaria (Rebecca ) 1859-1861 by William Henry Rinehart
(American, 1825-1874)

DThe Gospel of John relates the story of a Samaritan woman who is asked by
Jesus for a drink of water. After talking with him, she realizes that he is the
Messiah. Rinehart represents the woman, standing with her water vase. A native
of Maryland, the artist, with the financial help of William T. Walters, settled
in Rome in 1858. There, he sculpted idealized figures as well as portraits of
visiting Americans. He worked in a neoclassical style but was also influenced by
the emerging naturalistic trends in sculpture.

The Woman of Samaria (Rebecca ) 1859-1861 by William Henry Rinehart
(American, 1825-1874)

DThe Gospel of John relates the story of a Samaritan woman who is asked by
Jesus for a drink of water. After talking with him, she realizes that he is the
Messiah. Rinehart represents the woman, standing with her water vase. A native
of Maryland, the artist, with the financial help of William T. Walters, settled
in Rome in 1858. There, he sculpted idealized figures as well as portraits of
visiting Americans. He worked in a neoclassical style but was also influenced by
the emerging naturalistic trends in sculpture.

Bust of Mrs. William T. Waltersca, 1862 by William Henry Rinehart
(American, 1825-1874)

Ellen Harper (1822-62), the daughter of a prosperous Philadelphia merchant,
married William T. Walters in 1846. When she accompanied her husband on visits
to artists' studios, her genial personality contrasted with his gruff manner.
Ellen died of pneumonia after visiting the Crystal Palace in Sydenham in 1862.
This bust was finished after her death, and her friend Rinehart maintained that
producing it was the saddest duty he ever had to fulfill.

Rembrandt was the son of the well-known Neoclassical portraitist, Charles
Willson Peale, who used his influence to launch his children's careers as
artists. In 1795, Charles used his connections to get 17-year-old Rembrandt a
sitting with the growing American legend George Washington. Rembrandt would
later paint many portraits of Washington, as well as of Thomas Jefferson. The
younger Peale enjoyed a long, prosperous career, churning out likenesses of the
most distinguished members of Colonial America. Due to heavy demand, he often
relied on studio assistants. Consequently, the mature work can seem slightly
formulaic. However, this early work, probably done at about the same time that
the precocious young artist was introduced to Washington, has a refreshing
liveliness. The sitter, whose profession and identity remain somewhat unclear,
is captured as though directly engaging us. He points to a skull, which is
typically used in still-life painting as a symbol of human mortality. Scholars
have not yet determined if the prominent skull refers to the sitter's
professional status (a medical doctor?) or if it has some other, as yet
undeciphered symbolical role.

In 1793, after working in London and Dublin for 18 years, Stuart returned
to America. Two years later, he painted his first portrait of George Washington,
showing the right side of the president's face, a format since known as the
Vaughan type. In the spring of 1796, Washington again sat for Stuart, and the
resulting portrait, which was never finished, was originally acquired by the
Boston Athenaeum. Depicting the left side of the face, this second version was
replicated many times, becoming an icon of American art. The Baltimore art
collector Robert Gilmor, Jr., for a fee of $150, commissioned the artist to
paint this example of the Athaeneum format. It was Stuart's last likeness of
Washington.

Shee, a fashionable portrait painter, chose his subjects from the worlds of
the theatre and high society. Although the sitter has not been identified, this
portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1826. Four years later,
Shee was elected president of the Academy. Miss Moffat is portrayed removing a
strand of pearls from a gold jewel box .

Edmonia Lewis, the first African-American sculptor to receive national
recognition, was born in the village of Greenbush, near Albany, New York. Her
father was Haitian, and her mother was partly Native American, of the Chippewa
tribe, and partly African American. Lewis attended Oberlin College in Ohio and
in 1863 moved to Boston, where she received instruction from the sculptor Edward
Brackett. Two years later, she left the United States for Rome. She adopted the
prevailing neoclassical style of sculpture, as seen in this nude bust, but
softened it with a degree of naturalism, as reflected in the rendering of the
facial features. Most sculptors relied on the local craftsmen actually to carve
their works, but Lewis, sensitive to speculation that she was not responsible
for her sculptures, carved them personally. She had a successful career,
specializing in biblical subjects, themes recalling her Native American and
African ancestry, and portrait busts. Her sculpture "The Death of Cleopatra" was
favorably received when it was shown at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
in 1876. Dioclesian Lewis (1823-1886) trained in medicine at Harvard College's
medical department and practiced briefly in Buffalo, New York. He is remembered
chiefly for lectures and publications dealing with preventive medicine and
physical hygiene, as well as for his support of liberal causes, including the
women's temperance movement. In 1865, he opened in Lexington, Massachusetts, the
Training School for Teachers of the New Gymnastics. His faculty members included
Theodore Dwight Weld, the noted abolitionist, and Catherine Beecher, sister of
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the novel that stirred abolitionist fervor,
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).

In this elegant, colorful portrait, a companion to Walters 37.2558, Miller
excels as a portraitist. He shows his sister-in-law standing with her back to a
mirror, which, in turn, reflects her bare neck and shoulders. Hanging from her
right shoulder is a red velvet drapery with a green lining. Beside her on a
table is a bowl containing a large goldfish. Mrs. Decatur H. Miller, née Eliza
Credilla Hare, was the daughter of Jesse Hare of Lynchburg, Virginia, and
Baltimore, and of Catherine Welch. Her father was an extremely wealthy tobacco
manufacturer who introduced the use of licorice in the manufacture of chewing
tobacco. Eliza was married to D. H. Miller on October 14, 1847.

Delacroix described the spectacular and violent military pageantry at the
court of Sultan Abd-er-Rahmen of Morocco (1778-1859), which he witnessed while
accompanying Count Charles de Mornay on a diplomatic expedition on behalf of
King Louis Philippe of France in 1832: "During their military exercises, which
consist of riding their horses at full-speed and stopping them suddenly after
firing a shot, it often happens that the horses carry away their riders and
fight each other when they collide."

Two Romans watch as a girl who has refused to sacrifice to pagan deities is
martyred by drowning. This copy of Delaroche's "Christian Martyr Drowned in the
Tiber during the Reign of Diocletian" (1853, now in the State Hermitage Museum,
St. Petersburg, Russia) was begun by Delaroche but completed by Jalabert, his
most devoted pupil. Such collaboration of student with master was a common
practice during the 19th century.

Oedipus and the Sphinx 1864 by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French,
1780-1867)

The Sphinx, a mythical creature-part lion, part woman-grimaces in horror as
Oedipus solves her riddle: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes
four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?" Oedipus replies, "Man, for as a babe
he is four-footed, as an adult he is two-footed, and as an old man he gets a
third support, a cane," and the Sphinx hurls herself onto the rocks below, which
are strewn with the bones of her victims. Ingres, who frequently repeated the
subjects of his paintings, first depicted this story at the beginning of his
career and returned to it several times, making variations in the composition,
such as reversing the direction in which the figures faced.

Oedipus and the Sphinx 1864 by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French,
1780-1867)

The Sphinx, a mythical creature-part lion, part woman-grimaces in horror as
Oedipus solves her riddle: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes
four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?" Oedipus replies, "Man, for as a babe
he is four-footed, as an adult he is two-footed, and as an old man he gets a
third support, a cane," and the Sphinx hurls herself onto the rocks below, which
are strewn with the bones of her victims. Ingres, who frequently repeated the
subjects of his paintings, first depicted this story at the beginning of his
career and returned to it several times, making variations in the composition,
such as reversing the direction in which the figures faced.

Oedipus and the Sphinx 1864 by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French,
1780-1867)

The Sphinx, a mythical creature-part lion, part woman-grimaces in horror as
Oedipus solves her riddle: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes
four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?" Oedipus replies, "Man, for as a babe
he is four-footed, as an adult he is two-footed, and as an old man he gets a
third support, a cane," and the Sphinx hurls herself onto the rocks below, which
are strewn with the bones of her victims. Ingres, who frequently repeated the
subjects of his paintings, first depicted this story at the beginning of his
career and returned to it several times, making variations in the composition,
such as reversing the direction in which the figures faced.

Oedipus and the Sphinx 1864 by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French,
1780-1867)

The Sphinx, a mythical creature-part lion, part woman-grimaces in horror as
Oedipus solves her riddle: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes
four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?" Oedipus replies, "Man, for as a babe
he is four-footed, as an adult he is two-footed, and as an old man he gets a
third support, a cane," and the Sphinx hurls herself onto the rocks below, which
are strewn with the bones of her victims. Ingres, who frequently repeated the
subjects of his paintings, first depicted this story at the beginning of his
career and returned to it several times, making variations in the composition,
such as reversing the direction in which the figures faced.

Ingres was deeply inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art as well by
Italian painting of the High Renaissance. Although he spent much of his career
in Rome, he resided in Florence from 1820 to 1824, where he painted this copy of
Titian's "Venus of Urbino" (1538), from the collection at the Pitti Palace. "The
Venus of Urbino" had inspired generations of artists. Ingres's version is the
same size as the original. He intended it to serve as a model for his close
friend, the sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini (1777-1850), who was creating a sculpture
based on the same subject.

The Betrothal of Raphael and the Niece of Cardinal Bibbiena 1813-14 by
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780-1867)

Although he trained in the studio of the celebrated Neoclassical history
painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Ingres defies easy classification. This
intimate painting reflects Ingres's Romantic fascination with the lives of
artists of the past whom he admired-in this case, Raphael. In this scene,
Cardinal Bibbiena presents his niece as a bride for Raphael, a demonstration of
the extraordinary esteem the cardinal felt for the handsome young artist. Ingres
was careful to use historical sources in his imaginative depiction of this
pivotal moment. Raphael's features are based on a portrait of a young man that
was once thought to be a self-portrait (National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C.); Bibbiena's likeness is based on a portrait by Raphael (Pitti Palace,
Florence); and the cardinal's niece was inspired by Sebastiano del Piombo's
image of a woman once identified as Raphael's mistress, called "La Fornarina"
(also in the Pitti Palace).

The Betrothal of Raphael and the Niece of Cardinal Bibbiena 1813-14 by
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780-1867)

Although he trained in the studio of the celebrated Neoclassical history
painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Ingres defies easy classification. This
intimate painting reflects Ingres's Romantic fascination with the lives of
artists of the past whom he admired-in this case, Raphael. In this scene,
Cardinal Bibbiena presents his niece as a bride for Raphael, a demonstration of
the extraordinary esteem the cardinal felt for the handsome young artist. Ingres
was careful to use historical sources in his imaginative depiction of this
pivotal moment. Raphael's features are based on a portrait of a young man that
was once thought to be a self-portrait (National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C.); Bibbiena's likeness is based on a portrait by Raphael (Pitti Palace,
Florence); and the cardinal's niece was inspired by Sebastiano del Piombo's
image of a woman once identified as Raphael's mistress, called "La Fornarina"
(also in the Pitti Palace).

Paris Kiosk 1880-1884 Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1935)

Like a number of other 19th-century artists, Béraud first trained to become
a lawyer before discovering his true calling. In 1872, he enrolled in the studio
of the portraiture specialist Léon Bonnat. While he began as a portraitist, he
eventually became known for his highly detailed scenes of urban life. Working
from a carriage that he converted into a mobile studio, Béraud recorded life on
the grand boulevards of Paris. The corner represented here can still be
recognized as the intersection of the Rue Scribe and the Boulevard des
Capucines. Like Degas, Béraud depicted modern life in all of its variety with
journalistic accuracy. Béraud, however, delighted in recording even the smallest
details, which are so precise that we can make out an advertisement for "Yedda,"
a popular ballet, and just below it, another playbill for a comic opera called
"La Fatinitza," which opened in Paris in 1879.

Art and Liberty 1859 by Louis Gallait (Belgian, 1810-1887)

This painting typifies the so-called "juste-milieu" (middle path) for which
Gallait was so admired during his lifetime. The subject is Romantic in its
idealization of the poor but virtuous itinerant musician, who bows to no
authority but his own artistic muse. At the same time, it is restrained in its
emotional tenor and painted with great technical assurance in the rendering of
the body and in the carefully described details of the musician's dress. This is
a reduced version of this subject now at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts of
Belgium. When the larger version was exhibited at the Salon of 1851, critics
praised the composition for its masterful drawing and melancholic dignity.

In this scene, papal troops intercept brigands who are looting a coach and carrying off its passengers. During the 19th century, brigands, or "banditi," posed a real threat to travelers in rural areas of the Italian states, but they were also idealized as daring outlaws. Horace Vernet, the director of the Académie de France in Rome (1828-34) and professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1835-63), was regarded as a leader of the "juste-milieu," or the middle course between the opposing Romantic and Neoclassical factions in French painting. He chose dramatic, often contemporary, subjects but rendered them with the smooth brushwork and attention to detail associated with the Academic tradition.

At the Café ca, 1879 by Edouard Manet (French, 1832-1883)

Manet was the quintessential "Painter of Modern Life," a phrase coined by
art critic and poet Charles Baudelaire. In 1878-79, he painted a number of
scenes set in the Cabaret de Reichshoffen on the Boulevard Rochechouart, where
women on the fringes of society freely intermingled with well-heeled gentlemen.
Here, Manet captures the kaleidoscopic pleasures of Parisian nightlife. The
figures are crowded into the compact space of the canvas, each one seemingly
oblivious of the others. When exhibited at La Vie Moderne gallery in 1880, this
work was praised by some for its unflinching realism and criticized by others
for its apparent crudeness.

Estelle Musson Balfour (1843-1909), the artist's cousin from New Orleans,
visited France in 1863-65. She was in mourning for her husband, who had been
killed at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, while fighting on the side of the
Confederacy in the Civil War. At the time that this portrait was painted, Mrs.
Balfour was going blind. Degas, too, would eventually lose his sight, and this
painting explores the experience of seeing those who cannot see.

Springtime 1872 by Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)

Monet moved to Argenteuil, a suburban town on the right bank of the Seine
River northwest of Paris, in late December 1871. Many of the types of scenes
that he and the other Impressionists favored could be found in this small town,
conveniently connected by rail to nearby Paris. In this painting, Monet was less
interested in capturing a likeness than in studying how unblended dabs of color
could suggest the effect of brilliant sunlight filtered through leaves. During
the early 1870s, Monet frequently depicted views of his backyard garden that
included his wife, Camille, and their son, Jean. However, when exhibited at the
Second Impressionist Exhibition in 1876, this painting was titled more
generically, "Woman Reading.

Still Life ca 1859 by Johann Wilhelm Preyer (German, 1803-1889)

On a table covered with a red cloth are a slender glass of sparkling wine,
a silver salver bearing oysters, a slice of lemon, a bunch of purple grapes
still attached to a sprig of vine with one large leaf, and several almonds. A
housefly is perched on the stem of the vine.

Portrait of Napoleon III ca, 1868 by Adolphe Yvon (French, 1817-1893)

Yvon served as the principal battle-painter of France's Second Empire
(1852-70), executing a number of monumental canvases for the palace at
Versailles. The French emperor is shown in his prime, two years before the
defeat of his forces in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

On this medallion, Napoleon is idealized as a Roman emperor crowned with a
laurel wreath. He is identified as the French emperor (r. 1804-14 and 1815) and
as king of Italy (r. 1805-14). Sauvage, who left his native Antwerp for Paris in
1774, became famous for painting porcelain to resemble marble.

The Waning Honeymoon 1878 by George Henry Boughton (American,
1833-1905)

Boughton was the son of a Norwich farmer who was taken to America while
still an infant. He initially opened a studio in Albany, New York, listing
himself as a landscape painter. He eventually settled in London where he
produced historical genre scenes, many of which were set in New England. In this
autumnal scene of the English Regency, a young couple is seated at the fork of
diverging paths, an ominous sign for their future.

Bathed in sunlight, an attractive young woman in Dutch country dress leans
from an open window in one corner of a vine-covered cottage. She reaches out to
drop coins in the hat of a young man outiside her window, who is wearing a
patched and dirty tunic. He is soliciting charity on behalf of an elderly woman,
who waits beside him in a wheeled, hand-drawn conveyance. A glimpse of a distant
landscape is visible over the brick wall to the right. Although Alma-Tadema was
only 20 when he painted this scene, he already shows in it the narrative skills
that will bring him such success with his later re-creations of life in Greek
and Roman antiquity. This genre scene was the artist's first major
commission.

Bathed in sunlight, an attractive young woman in Dutch country dress leans
from an open window in one corner of a vine-covered cottage. She reaches out to
drop coins in the hat of a young man outiside her window, who is wearing a
patched and dirty tunic. He is soliciting charity on behalf of an elderly woman,
who waits beside him in a wheeled, hand-drawn conveyance. A glimpse of a distant
landscape is visible over the brick wall to the right. Although Alma-Tadema was
only 20 when he painted this scene, he already shows in it the narrative skills
that will bring him such success with his later re-creations of life in Greek
and Roman antiquity. This genre scene was the artist's first major
commission.

Diogenes ca, 1860 by Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904)

The Greek philosopher Diogenes (404-323 BC) is seated in his abode, the
earthenware tub, in the Metroon, Athens, lighting the lamp in daylight with
which he was to search for an honest man. His companions were dogs that also
served as emblems of his "Cynic" (Greek: "kynikos," dog-like) philosophy, which
emphasized an austere existence. Three years after this painting was first
exhibited, Gerome was appointed a professor of painting at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts where he would instruct many students, both French and foreign.

Although born a peasant in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany,
Winterhalter became the foremost portraitist of European royalty and nobility.
Hélène Bibikoff was initially married to Prince Esper A. Belosselsky-Belozersky
and subsequently to Prince Kotschoubey, the son of the chancellor of the Russian
empire. A woman of great wealth, even by the standards of her time, the Princess
travelled extensively, mingling in the European courts, and entertaining
lavishly. Her palace on the Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg, was the setting for
balls that rivaled those of the court in all its grandeur. She is reported to
have maintained her role as a social leader at the imperial court with
autocratic zeal. Winterhalter has depicted her in one of his customary formats,
three-quarter length, nearly life-size, and painted against an overcast sky. She
wears a black silk gown, black lace, and jewelry, including a necklace of large
pearls, a pearl brooch with a large pendant pearl, a flexible, serpentine
bracelet, and several rings.

Othello by William Mulready 1840-1863 (British, 1786-1863) (?)

Mulready spent most of his career in London painting genre subjects. Many
of his major works are now on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Here,
he has portrayed the African-American actor Ira Aldridge (1805 (?)-1867), who
won renown in Europe for his Shakespearean roles, including Othello, Lear, and
Macbeth. This half-length portrait shows Aldrige in battle armor, with a flag at
his right, in front of a stone archway.

The Scarlet Letter 1861 by Hugues Merle (French, 1823-1881)

Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of "The Scarlet Letter" (1850), regarded this
painting, which William Walters commissioned from Merle in 1859, as the finest
illustration of his novel. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel relates how Hester
Prynne was publicly disgraced and condemned to wear a scarlet letter "A" for
adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who fathered her child, and Roger
Chillingworth, Hester's elderly husband, appear in the background. Merle's
canvas reflects some of the same 19th-century historical interest in the
Puritans as Hawthorne's book, a fascination that reached its peak with the
establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. By depicting Hester
and her daughter, Pearl, in a pose that recalls that of the Madonna and Child,
Merle underlines "The Scarlet Letter"'s themes of sin and redemption.

An odalisque (female member of a harem) reclines exposed in the harem
listening to a servant's lute music. This painting was commissioned by King
Wilhelm I of Württemberg and was executed by Ingres with the assistance of his
pupil Paul Flandrin. A version of this subject painted three years earlier shows
the odalisque in an enclosed room rather than with the garden vista in the
background (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts). This exotic composition,
which was inspired by a passage from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Turkish Letters
(1763), may have been conceived by Ingres in response to his rival Eugène
Delacroix's success as a painter of Near Eastern subjects.

Saïd Abdullah of the Mayac, Kingdom of the Darfur (Sudan) 1848 by
Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier (French, 1827-1905)

Cordier submitted a plaster cast of the bust of an African visitor to Paris
to the Salon of 1848, and two years later he again entered it as a bronze. A
young African woman served as the model for the companion piece in 1851 (Walters
54.2665). Regarded by 19th-century viewers as powerful expressions of nobility
and dignity in the face of grave injustice, these sculptures proved to be highly
popular: casts were acquired by the Museum of National History in Paris and also
by Queen Victoria. The Walters' pair were cast by the Paris foundry Eck and
Durand in 1852.

Cordier submitted a plaster cast of the bust of an African visitor to Paris
to the Salon of 1848, and two years later he again entered it as a bronze
(Walters 54.2664). A young African woman served as the model for this companion
piece in 1851. Regarded as powerful expressions of nobility and dignity, these
sculptures proved to be highly popular: casts were acquired by the Museum of
National History in Paris and also by Queen Victoria. The Walters' pair were
cast by the Paris foundry Eck and Durand in 1852. These bronzes were esteemed by
19th-century viewers as expressions of human pride and dignity in the face of
grave injustice.

An odalisque (female member of a harem) reclines exposed in the harem
listening to a servant's lute music. This painting was commissioned by King
Wilhelm I of Württemberg and was executed by Ingres with the assistance of his
pupil Paul Flandrin. A version of this subject painted three years earlier shows
the odalisque in an enclosed room rather than with the garden vista in the
background (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts). This exotic composition,
which was inspired by a passage from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Turkish Letters
(1763), may have been conceived by Ingres in response to his rival Eugène
Delacroix's success as a painter of Near Eastern subjects.

Cordier submitted a plaster cast of the bust of an African visitor to Paris
to the Salon of 1848, and two years later he again entered it as a bronze
(Walters 54.2664). A young African woman served as the model for this companion
piece in 1851. Regarded as powerful expressions of nobility and dignity, these
sculptures proved to be highly popular: casts were acquired by the Museum of
National History in Paris and also by Queen Victoria. The Walters' pair were
cast by the Paris foundry Eck and Durand in 1852. These bronzes were esteemed by
19th-century viewers as expressions of human pride and dignity in the face of
grave injustice.

The Scarlet Letter 1861 by Hugues Merle (French, 1823-1881)

Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of "The Scarlet Letter" (1850), regarded this
painting, which William Walters commissioned from Merle in 1859, as the finest
illustration of his novel. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel relates how Hester
Prynne was publicly disgraced and condemned to wear a scarlet letter "A" for
adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who fathered her child, and Roger
Chillingworth, Hester's elderly husband, appear in the background. Merle's
canvas reflects some of the same 19th-century historical interest in the
Puritans as Hawthorne's book, a fascination that reached its peak with the
establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. By depicting Hester
and her daughter, Pearl, in a pose that recalls that of the Madonna and Child,
Merle underlines "The Scarlet Letter"'s themes of sin and redemption.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Mummification preserved mortal remains in order to house the Ka, or life
force of the individual, as it needed to return to the body to find sustenance.
The human-shaped covering, called "cartonnage," is composed of layers of linen
and plaster. Its painted decoration includes the floral wreath on the wig, a
broad collar, and a winged scarab beetle. Five additional registers of
decoration show the protective four sons of Hours, the sacred boat of the
funerary-deity Sokar, a mummy of Osiris on a funerary bed, a divine falcon god,
and a short hieroglyphic text with an offering formula. See the additional media
for a facial reconstruction of the mummy, courtesy of Michael Brassell, as well
as a color reconstruction of the cartonnage.

The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon
neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection
was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters (1819–1894), who
began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American
Civil War. His private collection became one of the largest and most valuable in
the United States. And his son Henry Walters (1848–1931), who refined the
collection and rehoused it in a palazzo building on Charles Street which opened
in 1909. Upon his death, Henry Walters bequeathed the collection of over 22,000
works and the original Charles Street palazzo building to the city of Baltimore,
“for the benefit of the public.” The collection touches masterworks of ancient
Egypt, Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi, medieval ivories, illuminated
manuscripts, Renaissance bronzes, Old Master and 19th-century paintings, Chinese
ceramics and bronzes, and Art Deco jewelry.

Temple Relief of Nectanebo II ca. 350 BC (Late Period)

Once decorating the lower section of an interior temple wall, this relief
depicts gods carrying offering trays supporting cartouches bearing the name of
King Nectanebo II, and liquid and floral offerings. The deities bring the
agricultural wealth of the nome, or region, they represent in a procession. The
hieroglyphic texts praise the king and the god Onuris-Shu. Unlike the sunk
relief used on exterior walls, interior walls were decorated with raised
relief.

These two (together with Walters 22.100) well-preserved
painted relief sculptures originally belonged to a depiction of a procession of
gods, who represented the 42 nomes, or regions, of Egypt. They once decorated
the lower part of the southeast wall of the First Hall, containing eight
columns, within a temple dedicated to the god Osiris, built at Abydos by
Ramesses II. The lower portion of both figures remains in place in the Ramesses
temple, where they are exposed to the elements. The reliefs shown here, however,
have retained their vivid color. The deities bring offerings for the cult of
Osiris in Ramesses' name. Their faces follow the portrait style of Ramesses II,
with oval eyes, slightly hollowed eyelids, a small mouth, and a prominent,
beaked nose. Note the remains of the hieroglyph above each figure's head,
indicating that he or she is the personification of a region. The raised area of
these nome-signs retains red pigment. A portion of the abundant offerings the
male deity bears is preserved. His blue skin associates him with the forces of
creation. Original pigments also include yellow on the female deity's face, blue
on her wig, and light green on the plant stalks she holds in her right hand.

Relief Displaying the King Suckled by the Hathor-Cow ca. 1300-1200 BC (New
Kingdom)

A youthful king suckles at the udder of the mother-goddess Hathor, depicted
as a cow. His black flesh may indicate that he is deceased, this color being
associated with the underworld and the god Osiris; but the color black also
symbolizes fertility, renewal, and rebirth, and its use implies that the king
will be restored to life.

Mummy Mask of a Woman 50 BC-AD 50 (Greco-Roman)

Mummy masks of the Hellenistic and Roman periods often had gilded faces
that reflected the association of the deceased with the gods. This mask has been
molded over a core, with layers of mud and linen. The decoration was applied in
layers, with the gilding at the end. The eye inlays are made from glass, as well
as the blue scarab on the top of the head and the ibis inside of a pectoral on
the chest. The scarab has gilded wings which stretch down to the sides of the
wig. Above the forehead is a frieze of uraeus serpents with sun-disks on their
heads. At the right and left frontal ends of the wig are recumbent jackals. A
golden collar with five rows of rosettes and geometric patterns adorns the mask,
suspended from which two kneeling goddesses flank the pectoral with an ibis. The
goddesses may be identified as Isis and Nephthys, each with a sun-disk on her
head and a feather-fan in one hand. Mummy masks were used to protect and
idealize the facial features of the deceased. The golden face of this mask shows
no signs of age, gender, or emotions. The eyebrows, nose, mouth, chin, and ears
are very well modeled, but without color accents. The motif ensemble of the mask
symbolizes protection (uraeus serpents, jackals), general renewal
(scarab-beetle), and divine support to pass the court of death (Thoth-ibis,
goddesses) and to be renewed in the afterlife amongst the deities (reflected in
the golden color of the face).

Funerary Stele of Tembu ca. 1500-1470 BC (New Kingdom)

This round topped funerary stela of Tembu, is carved in very low relief and
brightly painted in red, yellow, blue, and black. The decoration comprises of
two registers of offering scenes and a register of inscription on the bottom.
The top depicts two Wadjit eyes flanking a shen-ring and water ripples with a
bowl. Below this Tembu is seated with his wife on a typical 18th-Dynasty double
chair. Under the chair and attached to it by a leash, is a pet monkey, holding a
mirror and a cosmetic vase, which is a typical feature of New Kingdom stelae.
The table in front of the couple holds loosely arranged offerings of bread,
beef, vegetables and lotus buds and two jugs on stands below the table. One of
the daughters of the couple stands in front of the large wine jar decorated with
a "nymphaea caerulea" and presents a bowl of wine to her parents. The middle
register depicts the rest of the family, including Tembu's sons Teti, Tetimose,
Teiy, and Ahmose, holding various flowers and two daughters Senetnefer and
Henut, holding flowers. Three of the sons wear short military kilts in
accordance with their titles, while the fourth son wears a long kilt and a
shirt. Between the daughters and the sons, is placed an extremely large jar
decorated with a lotus flower, and topped with a clay stopper.

Woman with Lotus ca. 2170-2020 BC (First Intermediate)

At the end of the Old Kingdom, the authority of the king and court had
eroded, and Egypt split into at least two distinct regions. Without a great
royal court to patronize workshops, artists and artisans worked for local
governors and officials. Lively regional styles developed, usually showing
elongated, fluid figures with features such as the hands, eyes, and ears
emphasized. Here, the inscriptions are an invocation to Anubis, god of embalming
and mummification, requesting funerary offerings of food and drink for the
deceased. This stela, carved in sunk relief, depicts a woman named Nefer-khabet.
She wears a long, narrow, tight-fitting garment, a long wig, a collar, an armlet
and a bracelet, and anklets. Her skin is painted pale yellow, her garment is
pale blue, and her various pieces of jewelry are painted a darker shade of blue.
She faces to the right and holds a blue lotus blossom with her left hand in
front of her face, while her right arm hangs down at her side. In front of her
is a short, small table heaped with offerings (two basins and two loaves, a
shoulder of meat, vegetables, and more loaves); beneath it are ewer and a basin.
More offerings (two baskets with food, four pottery jars on stands, loaves, and
bunches of onions) are placed to the right of this table. The offerings are
painted in red, yellow, and pale green, and are surrounded on three sides (all
except the bottom) by a thin black rectangular border. Three rows and one column
of inscription in blue are placed above her and to her right. Surrounding the
scene on three sides (except for the bottom) is a border consisting of pale
green, yellow, red, and black boxes, with an outline of black around them. The
stela is broken on all four sides, breaking off three areas (upper left, lower
left and right) of the colored-block border. The yellow, green, red, blue, and
brown colors are well preserved.

Sesostris III ca. 1850 BC (Middle Kingdom)

Usually the sculptures of kings and queens have youthful, confident,
contented, and even slightly smiling facial expressions. King Sesostris III
broke dramatically with this tradition, and his face shows signs of age,
concern, and discontent. He may have wished his sculptors to show him as the
shepherd of his people, heavily burdened by his care for their needs and the
duties of monarchy. Among the most important ancient Egyptian sculptures in the
collection, this statue is a classic representation of an Egyptian pharaoh. He
is shown wearing the nemes head cloth (worn only by Egypt's monarchs) with a
uraeus (protective serpent) at the brow, and a shendyit (pleated kilt). An
unusual feature of this king's sculpture is the amulet suspended from a
necklace.

Itj-ibj 1976-1911 BC (Middle Kingdom)

Discovered in the ancient necropolis, or burial ground, in Asyut in 1913,
the statue is inscribed on either side of the block-like seat with the offering
texts for Itj-ibj, a minor official, represented with a shoulder-length head
covering and wearing a shendyit, or pleated kilt. While early 12th Dynasty in
style, this impressive seated statue shows Itj-ibj in a classic pose copied from
Old Kingdom sculpture: hands balanced on his thighs, the left flat and the right
clenched in a fist, holding a folded cloth. Traces of red paint with white spots
remain on the fleshy areas of the sculpture, and it has been suggested that the
exposed parts of the body were painted to make the limestone resemble red
granite, a more costly stone.

Isis with Hours the Child ca. 680-640 BC (Late Period)

For the ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis was the model of the loyal wife
and mother, as well as a powerful magician. She was the wife of the god Osiris
and the mother of Hours. Just as the king of Egypt was associated with Hours in
life and Osiris in death, queens of Egypt were linked with Isis, and their
visual representations have similarities with the goddess. For example, both may
be depicted wearing the vulture headdress shown here. The crown composed of a
sun-disk and cow horns originally belonged to Hathor, but was assimilated by
Isis.

Upper Part of a Statue of a Man 4th century BC (Late Period-early
Greco-Roman)

Almost certainly a fragment of a life-size temple statue showing its owner
reverently kneeling before his god, this figure is quite rare, perhaps even
unique. The eyes and eyebrows were probably once inlaid with other materials,
enhancing the liveliness of the facial features. The shaved head may indicate
the owner's status as a cleric or high official.

Statue Group of Nen-kheft-ka and His Wife, Nefer-shemes ca. 2350 BC (Old
Kingdom)

Found in a rock-cut tomb at Deshasheh, located about seventy miles to the
south of modern Cairo, this pair statue of the mayor Nen-kheft-ka and his wife
Nefer-shemes exemplifies in the pose and relative scale of its subjects the
standard Egyptian artistic conventions for the representation of men and women.
Nen-kheft-ka strides forward with his left foot and holds his arms closely at
his sides, while his wife is depicted on a smaller scale and stands with her
feet together. Each statue was carved separately and altered prior to burial to
fit into a shared base.

Mummy Mask of a High Official ca. 2000-1980 BC (Middle Kingdom)

The use of a mummy mask is one of the most characteristic features of
ancient Egyptian burial customs. Such cartonnage masks covered the head and the
upper part of the chest of a mummy. Generally, they consist of layers of linen
and gypsum that could be molded to the shape of the deceased. Finally, each mask
was painted in bright colors. Because of their fragility, relatively few mummy
masks of the Middle Kingdom have survived in as good a state of preservation as
this one. The face is rendered in a formal, stylized way, giving it a somewhat
stiff expression. Even so, some details are indicated: the bristles of the full
beard, the mustache, and the eyebrows, all stippled in black over a blue ground.
The man wears a voluminous wig with long, rounded ends, which are neatly rimmed
with a decorative border. A broad collar composed of many rows of beads features
falcon-headed terminals, which are held in position by strings emerging from
under the wig on the mask's back. In addition, a simple necklace with a large
pearl completes his adornment. But most striking is the richly ornamented diadem
with a floral motif over the forehead. The model for this diadem was gold and
silver, inlaid with semiprecious stones like carnelian, lapis lazuli, and
turquoise. Although the original burial spot of the Walters' newly acquired
mummy mask is not known, its general style and details undoubtedly indicate that
it came from the necropolis at Asyut. At this important site, the capital of the
13th district of Upper Egypt, a French mission as well as the Egyptian nobleman
Sayed Khashaba Pascha conducted intensive archaeological excavations during the
early 20th century. Many rock-cut tombs belonging to the courtiers of the Asyut
nomarchs (the rulers of the nome) were found untouched and still contained their
original grave goods. This mask was probably discovered during the poorly
documented Khashaba excavation, which left no records about related objects
found in the tomb, including the coffin of the deceased with its inscriptions.
Without records of his titles and name, the identity of the owner of this mask
must remain a mystery.

Statue of a Man 664-600 BC (Late Period)

The artists of the Kushite rulers of the 25th Dynasty introduced a new
realism into royal art and sculpture and also revitalized private sculpture.
Kushite images had a broader cheek and stronger jaw, resulting in a more angular
face than had been seen before. When the 26th Dynasty supplanted the 25th, the
artistic center changed from the residence of the Kushite kings at Napata in
southern Nubia, to Sais in Egypt's Delta, home to the new ruling family. The
style also changed to a more idealized image with softer features. This early
26th Dynasty sculpture combines the angularity of the larger boned Kushite face
with the new idealizing style of the Saite Period, producing a strong and
polished image.

Kneeling Figure of Hor-wedja ca. 640-620 BC (Late Period)

Hor-wedja was the son of Vizier Sasobek, the highest-ranking official
during the reign of King Psammetichus I. Hor-wedja's son Meryptah commissioned
this temple sculpture for him. Hor-wedja kneels, presenting only himself to his
god. He abases himself in the deity's presence but keeps his head erect,
expressing respect and confidence. A hieroglyphic inscription gives the lineage
and titles of Hor-wedja running in a horizontal band around the base, in a line
across the top of the base and in a single vertical column on the back pillar.
Hor-wedja kneels upon a rectangular base and his toes are splayed out in an
unnatural way. He wears a belted shendyt kilt and a simple bag wig. The wide
width of the wig is common for the Saite Period. The orientation of the wig onto
the top of the back pillar is echoed in other sculptures from the 26th Dynasty
through the reign of Apries. As is characteristic for the Saite Period his image
is quite idealized. The body appears strong but the definition of the
musculature is subtle. A strong median line is visible. His hands are placed
flat upon his thighs and appear unusually plump. His facial features are also
typical for the Saite Period: long almond-shaped eyes with straight brows above,
long smooth cheeks, a long straight nose and a softly smiling mouth. The statue
is well preserved and the polish is only marred by a few minor nicks.

Relief with Winged Genius 883-859 BC (Neo-Assyrian)

This relief decorated the interior wall of the northwest palace of King
Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud, which is situated in present-day Iraq. With his
right hand, the genius (or benevolent spirit) uses a cone-shaped object to
sprinkle from his bucket some magic potion upon either a sacred tree or the king
depicted on the adjacent relief. The genius wears the horned crown of a deity
and the elegant jewelry and fringed cloak of contemporary courtiers.

About Me

I'm a antique dealer and Historical Folk artist. I created this blog to document and highlight my artwork along with my day to day life as a Artist, Antique dealer and collector. My favorite two periods in history are France's Ancien Régime, the time of French Queen Marie Antoinette 1770-1789 and the antebellum period of the American South 1830-1860. Both of theses periods ended tragically with war. I intend to explore furniture, architecture, decorative arts, culture, history, fashion and the people that made up these two fascinating periods in time. I recently moved back to my roots of Mobile, Alabama after living away for 17 years. Come and explore the restoration of my turn-of-the century Art's and crafts bungalow into a Antebellum show place.